Isn't There a Better Way to Pick a President?

Published: August 15, 2004

To the Editor:

In ''Fit to Be Tied'' (Op-Ed, Aug. 11), Robert Bennett examines the possibility of a tie in the Electoral College, which has 538 members: one for each senator and member of the House of Representatives, plus three for the District of Columbia. His solution is to add an odd number of representatives to the House so that there would not be an even number of electoral votes.

There is another possible reform, which is to follow the lead of Maine and Nebraska. Those states already allocate electoral votes on the basis of the popular vote in each Congressional district, instead of using the ''winner take all'' method. They also give two electors to the winner of the statewide popular vote.

If all states used this method, it would bring the electoral vote into much closer alignment with the popular vote. It would also preserve the benefits of the Electoral College: restricting the impact of voter fraud or irregularities to localized areas, preventing overwhelming majorities in a few states from obviating the voters' choice in less populated areas, and assuring that candidates need to campaign nationwide.